There are many things to do for Christmas and spending the holiday season away is always a good idea. It is a chance for you to experience a new culture, new traditions and it can be a nice change of scene. NYC is possibly one of the best destination you can hit for the Christmas. There are many things to do and places to go to to truly enjoy this time of the year.
Where are the typical Christmas traditional hotspots in NYC?
The typical places you want to go to, to see what Chritmas is all about in NYc are where the Christmas trees are. There are different Christmas tree across town, some of them stand out a little more as they are quite impressive.
The biggest and most known is the one on the Rockefeller Center. This iconic tree is put up by mid November until early January, like most Christmas trees in NYC. There is a big ceremony you should attend when they turn all the lights on for the first time. In 2011 it will be held on November 30th, and then the light willl be on each day for the entire holiday season.
Some museums also have their own Christmas trees such as the American Museum on Natural History or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These are also beautiful and located in great cultural attractions.
Another good Christmas traditions in NYC is to go see Santa! What would be more magical for kids than a day in NYC looking at the different Christmas Trees and then seeing Santa ? The most common place to go to is Macy’s. It is quite traditional for New Yorkers to go see Santa there. And because ice skating is also big during the Christmas season, you can go have breakfast at the Rock Center and See Santa and his elves there before you go on the iconic ice rink of the Rock Center and swing around to warm up a little.
As in many other cities, NYC has various Christmas market which are set up for this annual occasion and features many traditional and local items and products. There are a few of them across town such as at Bryant Park or Columbus Circle or Union Square. They even have one that is indoor at Grand Central Terminal which is nice because the weather gets very cold in the winter in NYC and it is not always a fun time to walk around the city for hours looking for the perfect gift when it is freezing and snowing outside.
What to do in NYC
There are many things others to do in NYC apart from Christmas trees, Santa and Christmas markets. Some of the Big Apple’s landscape become even more attractive during the holiday season. For instance, Central Park is always a must-see for anyone who’s going to NYC for the first time but it become the ultimate destination during this time of the year. The lights make this place absolutely beautiful and even magical. You can go ice skating there and just enjoy a walk in the park covered with an elegnt white coat.
Another place to go ice skating is no other than the famous Rockefeller Center as we said before. This place gets packed because of its location and the magnificent Christmas tree. This is possibly the palce that will represents the best the holiday spirit and atmosphere in the entire city.
While you hang out in NYC during the end of the year, you should not pass on the opportunity of catching a show on Broadway. The good thing is that during Christmas time, there are a number of extra shows to celebrate the holiday season. The shows are all linked to the festive traditions and spirit.There are many of them and it would be a long list to go through if we were to describe all of them. Perhaps the most famous of all the christmas shows in New York is the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Featuring the famous Rockettes with over 140 performers, lavish sets and costumes and an original musical score. The 90 minute revue combines singing, dancing and humor with traditional scenes in spectacular stage settings.
The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden is a show that contains model trains and over 140 scaled replicas of New York landmarks. It is extremly popular espcially with children. The replicas are created using only plants so it is quite something to be able to witness these designs.
These are the typical things you can do in NYC which is perfect if you are only there for the holiday seasons. It is definitely the ultimate destination to male the most out of this festive period. There is, of course, many others things to do that you can do and will make your stay incredible and unforgettable.
[box]This post was written by Lisa a traveller and blogger for Apartime.com who provides holiday apartments in NYC.[/box]
